Diva-licious! We like Kofi, we like cream–especially now that she’s turning 40 by D.L. Groover

Fluff up that Eva Gabor. Re-dye those Ferragamos. Dry-clean that Chanel. Dust off the bugle beads and marabou. Pluck those brows and Epil-Stop that chest, for the mother of all drag extravaganzas is coming to Houston, Thursday, June 20.

Calling all queens: For one night only, South Beach nightclub will be dazzlingly reborn as the old Copa, Houston’s legendary drag bar, when Kofi, Bayou City’s drag entertainer nonpareil, celebrates her 40th birthday party. Chiffon and high heels will politely elbow those club kids’ T-shirts and sneakers right into the aisles. Rhinestones will blind in the laser light, and there will be enough pancake and eye shadow for 20 Maria Montez movies.

A flotilla of distaff pulchritude will entertain and take the audience’s breath away, not least among them Tommie Ross, Maya Douglas, Donna Day, Whitney Paige, Chevelle Brooks, Diane Michaels, Roxanne Collins, Alexis Davenport.

"I want it to be one of the most fantastic celebrations that anyone has seen in Houston in years," says Terry Nabors, Kofi’s male alter ego and the reason for Kofi’s evergreen popularity. Nabors is level-headed, open-hearted, and a sincerely good person. He gives off positive vibes. All these cheery down-home traits imbue Kofi with a very real honesty when on stage. She has as much fun up there as we do being entertained by her.

"I’m just a country boy from Leesville, Louisiana," Nabors says. Of course, he is a boy who has been able to make a serious living at wearing women’s clothes. "I’ve never been straight. When I was in second grade I had a boy carry my books home from school. To be honest, I can’t remember a straight day in my life."

Nabors moved to Houston when he was 14 and graduated from Westbury High School and the University of Houston, after majoring in business. A model student, he completely paid for his college education through scholarships. He had, by then, been working at Loehmann’s, and when he graduated from UH he stayed with the company for 14 years, to become regional vice president of visual merchandising and sales promotion for all the stores in Texas, Oklahoma, and Arizona.

Nabors left the retail chain when the company consolidated in the early ’90s and started to run its marketing out of national headquarters. He bought a restaurant, and for a few years made hamburgers at his Burger House on Park Place. Nabors was dependent on a business lunch crowd, and when his clients moved out of the area, so did he. But he always had drag.

Nabors has been a venerated member of the drag community for 20 years, but when he started he didn’t even know that a community existed. He had been frequenting the Copa on Richmond and Kirby since high school, but had never gone on Sunday nights when their heralded drag shows performed. Some friends convinced him to go with them, and when he experienced female impersonators like Tiffany Jones, Naomi Sims, and Hot Chocolate, Nabors found his calling.

"I was sitting in the audience and said, ‘Oh my God, I can do this!’ I’ve always liked to entertain and I acted in plays in school and church."

"A lot of people don’t realize that within the gay community, before it became world-wide popular, drag was like the glue that held the gay community together," Nabors says. "It was the art form we had all to ourselves.

"One of the reasons I love doing drag is that I like women so much. With women, there’s so much versatility. I always admired how beautiful women could make themselves. And I like real ladies. I can’t stand to hear a woman cuss. Now, when I’m in drag, I use a little foul language for entertainment purposes, but very rarely will you hear a cuss word come out of Terry’s mouth. That’s the only real difference between my two personalities."

Nabors performed for the first time on Galveston during Splash weekend, when his friends convinced him to wear drag. "You have to have a name," they said. "But I have a name," Nabors said naively. "No, a stage name." Someone was adding milk to his coffee and happened to say that he knew the taste would be just right when it turned Terry’s color. And that was how Kofi was born.

"On my first number, a man tipped me some roses and a 10-dollar bill," Nabors recalls. "This is good, I thought, this could be really really good. Then I entered one talent night and won it, and from that point on I was very fortunate and blessed that I started to work. I started doing it for fun and not being that serious about it."

He has worked continuously for the last 18 years, 11 of them at JR’s, hosting the Sunday, Tuesday, and Wednesday amateur shows.

"When I started this, I never conceived a day when I would be making a living at it," Nabors says. "But I keep God number one in my life no matter what. I practice it, and he blesses me continually. I bought this house in the last five years I’ve been doing drag for a living."

Lounging on an overstuffed sofa, he spreads his arms wide and smiles at his good fortune. His spacious ranch house in Inwood Forest is tastefully decorated. The only sign of his drag persona is his national crown from Miss Gay USofA AtLarge, which rests on the mantle over the fireplace. A small, air-conditioned room in the garage holds his extensive collection of gowns, wigs, and shoes.

On weekends, Nabors travels across the country for benefits or show gigs, and recently he has begun speaking to young people about coming out, especially for Excite, a program of the AIDS Foundation Houston. "Whenever anyone asks me, I’m there," he says.

"Being a more full-figured, pleasantly plump person, I’ve learned to love myself for who and what I am, instead of worrying about trying to change. I looked in the mirror and said, ‘God created me. He makes no mistakes.’ I’m happy with what he made, how much he made, where it is, the shape it’s in. I’m not going to worry about trying to change the package, I’m going to use what the package contains. Just be honest and be yourself.

"I can hold my candle up to any of the little skinny girls. When I walk out on stage, if I want to feel like a size 6, I can."

Kofi’s 40th Birthday Party, Wednesday, June 20, South Beach, 810 Pacific. Doors open 9 p.m., show time 10:30 p.m. $10 cover; $15 for tableside. Contact Kofi at JR’s for table seating. 713/521-2519